Double-Breasted Suits at Fashion Week

Phineas Cole

Q. In a recent column you wrote about the return of “more double-breasted cuts than have been seen in recent years,” saying the style was flattering to most men. You said you saw them at Fashion Week and on The Artist and Downton Abbey. But isn’t that the point, they are only found in these period pieces and on fashion runways that only show what models wear?
       I was always taught that most men do not look good in a double-breasted suit or jacket, and that only fit and trim men should wear them. Now I am confused.
 
A. What you were taught has some truth to it, but not totally. It is not a hard and fast rule. Besides, most fashion “rules” should be taken with a “grain of salt.”

Yes, tall and very slim men look great in this cut for business, for formal wear, and for other social events. And it is true that the horizontal lines created by the rows of double-breasted buttons do tend to direct the eye across the body, resulting in an optically widening effect. But unless you are excessively heavy, this should not deter you from wearing the mostly flattering “DB” cut (as the clothing industry tends to term it).

  

Double-breasted cuts add a certain element of dressiness and sophistication that is not easy to achieve with the more pedestrian single-breasted cut. And the peak lapels that are an essential part of a DB add stature by accentuating and visually broadening a man’s shoulders.

If a double-breasted suit or jacket is a dark color and/or has a pattern with vertical stripes, and if you do not break the eye’s up-and-down movement by pairing a dark jacket with light-colored trousers, then, even if you’re not tall and slim, it can be a good choice. This is especially true when the jacket is well tailored and slightly nipped in at the waist.

I have said before and it bears repeating that the items shown at Fashion Week may be the forefront of a trend, but they do indicate a trend. So, when neckties you see are extremely narrow one year, you can expect your wide ties to be out of style in a year or two; when DB jackets repeatedly appear on the runways, at the very least they will not seem unusual within a couple of seasons. The “average” citizen assumes these shows are esoteric and difficult to understand or watch, but they can be quite enjoyable – and some are accessible on the web. Of all the different designers’ fashion shows I attended this season at New York Fashion Week Fall 2012, the most beautiful and exciting was the Zang Toi (House of Toi) show, and if you have the chance you should take a look at their men’s and women’s clothes.

The colors in the show were white, black, black-and-white, and a spectacular bright red (some with a few touches of hot pink) – everything dramatic, but mostly wearable. In my many years’ attending Fashion Week in New York, this is the very first time I have ever seen an entire audience rise “as one” at the end of the runway show for a standing ovation. It was not what you see at the end of a good play, where first a few people stand to applaud, and then more, and more. No, this was a rising en masse with everyone applauding furiously – and, happily, I was one of them. When I called to compliment them on the show, they promised to send the video as soon as it was completed. It just arrived and, for those of my readers who might enjoy an inside taste of what Fashion Week can be like at its best, here is the site: http://VIMEO.COM/37359170. (You have to get through the first few minutes of promotion for the show’s make-up artist, hairdresser, etc. before the actual runway show begins.) Still, this one-in-a-million display of beautiful clothes is worth it. 

 

Turning a Fine Dress Shoe into a "Comfort Shoe"

Allen Edmonds Shoes

Q. I want a shoe that is comfortable but I don’t want one that looks like it’s comfortable -- I want to continue my professional appearance. Clothes are important to me and I’m willing to spend a healthy amount on good shoes. Do you have any suggestions about how to find a dress shoe I can wear all day without wishing I were wearing sneakers?

A. Well, to start with, you have the right idea when you say you’re willing to spend a healthy amount on good shoes. If there is one item in a man’s wardrobe where he really should not stint, it is on top-of-the-line quality shoes. Whether for business or for important social events, fine quality shoes will make you look your best.

While nothing makes a man look better dressed or gives him more confidence than a great pair of quality dress shoes, unfortunately, “a pair” is not enough. He needs at least two, or better yet, three pairs to cover various occasions and to allow for rotating them on alternate days. 

Even if a man is wearing a fantastic looking suit, shirt, and tie, poor quality shoes will detract from his appearance. If you think the world does not notice your shoes, you are making a major mistake. People (and especially bosses and women) do notice.                                                                                          

My answer to your question has three parts:

·              Buy top quality (translation: “expensive”) all-leather shoes;

·              Keep them polished and in good repair;

·              Consider making a few special “comfort” additions.

It’s true that good shoes are expensive, but if you choose wisely and take care of them, you can wear them for years. You will always feel good (in both senses of the word) in fine quality shoes. 

Although wise shoppers can find many clothing items at reasonable prices, that is not usually the case with shoes, especially dress shoes. We’re talking “hundreds” here. Even if you discover other bargain-priced clothes, you probably should be looking at shoes that cost more than $300, maybe even a good bit more. There is an old saying that a $200 pair of shoes will last twice as long as a $100 pair of shoes, but a $300 pair of shoes will last a lifetime. And that quip is from a while ago; today’s numbers are higher. 

Keep in mind the “Cost Per Wearing” (C.P.W.) theory. Since you can actually get away with owning three pairs and since fine quality leather shoes can be resoled and refurbished several times, they end up being cheaper than inexpensive shoes that you buy new year after year. Shoes are a strategic investment. By amortizing the cost over many wearings, the C.P.W. is reduced to pennies. Good shoes not only look better and are more comfortable than their inexpensive counterparts, but they can last for years or decades, maybe even generations.